Witnesses say Bengals player Jones punched woman

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones punched a woman after she poured beer on him when he insulted her and her friends, witnesses and a prosecutor said Monday at his trial on an assault charge.

Jones, who has had a spate of legal troubles, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault stemming from the June 5 nightclub dispute. He could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted by the Hamilton County Municipal Court judge.

Jones’ attorney said in opening statements that Jones was the victim and that the woman struck first, hitting him with a beer bottle.

But Assistant City Prosecutor Christopher Ryan said the woman, Shannon Wesley, wasn’t going to tolerate Jones’ insults, which included calling some of the women “fat” and “ugly,” and was standing up for herself and the other women with her.

“The blow caused her head to snap back,” Ryan said, adding that it knocked her to the ground.

Ryan said Wesley suffered bruises, scrapes, neck pain and a headache.

Wesley’s friend Brooke Boling testified that Jones came up to a railing on the patio outside the bar and was insulting them. She said he kept calling them names and that’s when Wesley leaned over the railing and poured beer on his shoulder.

She said Wesley didn’t touch Jones with the bottle.

“When she poured it, she got hit and went down, and I ran inside,” Boling said

Boling said she didn’t know it was Jones at the time.

“I thought it was some person, drunk,” she said.

Witnesses described Jones as being angry and loud. A security employee at the nightclub testified he heard women’s screams and saw arms flailing.

“It looked like he was very furious, upset and mad,” Nick Trotta said.

Last month, Jones paid a fine for disorderly conduct after police accused him of making offensive comments in a traffic stop.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested in 2011 in another case. He was accused in that case of shouting profanities and trying to pull away as police arrested him at a bar.

Jones, the Bengals’ third cornerback and a punt returner, could face discipline from the National Football League under its conduct policy.

The trial is expected to resume Tuesday afternoon with testimony from Wesley and the surveillance video.